Myanmar (Burma) remains unsettled and continues to maintain some of the highest numbers of child soldiers on the planet. Aung San Suu Kyi, leader for the national democracy movement of Myanmar, faces many challenges in her plans for peace. In her Aug. 31 speech, Suu Kyi pledged to establish a "democratic federal union." But just a day earlier, a military spokesman dismissed the term, saying it did not comply with the 2008 constitution drafted by the military.

Knowing the dark realities of life in a rebel army, it’s hard to imagine anyone actually choosing that path. In truth however, a portion of the children, teens and young adults we work with are not sold, forcibly taken or threatened – they chose to become soldiers... Without access to education, they know the options for their future are extremely limited and to an innocent mind that can’t yet grasp the reality of war, learning to shoot guns sounds like fun.

Emmanuel Jal, a young man from South Sudan, grew up in a life that many of us cannot imagine. At 7, he was forced to become a child solider to fight in the South Sudan civil war. He says that one of his most haunting memories is from when he was tempted to eat one of his fellow soldiers for survival.

Meet Squirrel. He came to Project AK-47 when he was 12 years old trying to escape a bloody history with a drug cartel. His head was slightly large and he had buck teeth, so the nickname “Squirrel” stuck. Squirrel became part of our rehab program because our PAK-47 community (you) gave us the funds.